Awesome; I Fuckin Shot That! -- The Beastie Boys

We gathered once again for our first MMN of the Summer Season on the fifth of June at the abode of Master of Arms and Curtains for a bittersweet viewing of the Beastie Boys' Awesome; I Fuckin Shot That!. Bittersweet, of course, because the movie choice was in memory of the late Adam Yauch, aka MCA.

 The evening began with the construction and consumption of Brass Monkey, provided by the Rabbi. He deftly combined orange juice, Old English 800 and dry ice into a smoking, frothy potion of delirium and deliciousness. As per our suburban street roots, we convened in the front yard for a few words of praise for Mr. Yauch and then poured a little out for our fallen homie. After serving ourselves refreshments (post and pictures to follow)we began the 2006 concert film.

The Boys gave out hundreds of video cameras to audience members during the Madison Square Garden homecoming performance, edited it down, and released it as a movie. Some personal thoughts follow: I find it interesting how the novelty of an audience member filming a show has quickly worn off - go to any show today and what do you see? Hundreds of little blue rectangles staring back at you as members tape the performance. It's refreshing to watch concert footage before the smartphone age, when people seemed to be busy enjoying the show and not tweeting, taping, or facebooking to everyone else that they're enjoying the show (and indeed, I've been guilty of this as well).

 In this reviewer's opinion, it was a joy to see more of the audience's reactions to the cameras as they watched the bands' show. You really got a feel for how meaningful the Beastie Boys were to the New York audience, and even got a couple of cameos from DMC and Ben Stiller having a blast, just being a fan. The music was excellent, as usual. Rap shows are not know for their proficiency or stellar performance, but the Beasties easily overcame such issue with their enthusiasm and energy, covering a breath of styles and decades of records. The concert energy dropped a bit when they had an instrumental interlude, but the closing performance of "Intergalactic" was fantastic as the group ran through the catacombs of MSG to suddenly appear amongst the audience and explode with the modern classic.

 The night was a fitting memorium for MCA. As a Generation Xer, I feel that his death has brought my generation face-to-face with mortality. Sure, Cobain died at a young age, being our member of the "27 club", but his was a suicide. Yauch was a husband and father (like most of us) who didn't die of his own hand or a tragic accident. He's a man to be admired for his personal growth, his talent, and his intellectual curiosity. "What's running through my mind comes through in my walk True feelings are shown from the way that I talk"